A history-making weekend for the Wellington Phoenix academy.
The women’s reserves were particularly in the spotlight, a 3-2 win against Western Springs arguably the biggest ever National League win for the academy side.
Amber de Wit opened the scoring early on with a fierce strike, before Poppy O’Brien spectacularly added a second.
And a late winner from Maisy McDonald took the reserves to ten points, their best-ever tally in the National League with one game still to play.
The men’s reserves also enjoyed a win, beating Coastal Spirit 1-0 at Fraser Park.
There was no issue with creating chances, but the finishing touch continued to elude the Nix until Luke Flowerdew swept home with just a few minutes to play.
In the Youth National League, the U-18 women lost 5-2 to Fencibles in their final game of the season.
Bridie Christie and Eliza Vincent scored for the Nix.
On the international stage, four academy players featured as the junior All Whites competed at the U-17 World Cup.
Losses to Mali, Saudi Arabia, and Austria eliminated the team at the group stage, with the highlight being Jack Perniskie’s clever backheel finish against Saudi Arabia.
Dan Nelson, Joe McIntyre, and Joseph Chalabi were the other academy players in the squad.
This weekend, the women’s reserves conclude their campaign away to West Coast Rangers, while the men travel to Auckland City.
Cover photo credit: Hamish Black Media
